After much effort from everyone, they finally reached the top of the building.
What awaited them wasn't just a group of armed soldiers. Rain was there too, her mouth sealed with tape, and one of the men gripped her neck, letting her dangle over the building's broken edge.
Then, he no longer hesitated and simply let go.
- Rain[1] -
Rain began to fall, tears streaming down her face, while the thought of such a tragic death filled her heart with sorrow.
She still had so many things she hadn't done. She'd never had a boyfriend, never even confessed to the person she liked, and now she would die like this.
Facing death, Rain couldn't stop thinking about one person: the first one she, a shut-in hacker, ever actually wanted to be close to.
Even though she didn't want it to end this way, she closed her eyes and waited, just hoping it wouldn't hurt too much.
'Huh? Wait, why does this feel soft and warm? Did someone... catch me?!'
Thinking this, Rain immediately opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Wise's handsome face.
"Are you alright? Though I'm a bit late, I made it just in time," Wise said as he landed steadily.
At the same time, he gently tore off the tape from her mouth.
The moment he'd seen Rain being thrown down, he immediately activated bullet time and rushed out.
He usually didn't fight much, and this ability was generally used for other activities, so it was fortunate he could use it to save her.
The thought had barely formed when something warm pressed against his lips, followed by slender arms sliding around his neck.
Rain was still just a girl, one who'd spent days terrified and trapped with her captors, who'd nearly plummeted to her death moments ago.
Whatever sense of security she'd once had was completely gone. Then Wise showed up and saved her.
For a girl who already harbored feelings for him, his presence at such a desperate time became her anchor.
Thus, Rain's favorability jumped straight to 95 points, giving him 1000 emotional value.
However, the most important thing was that at this moment, Rain still believed this was just a pre-death hallucination.
After all, how could Wise, an ordinary video store manager, possibly be in the Hollow?
So thinking that even if it wasn't real, she shouldn't hold back before death, her hands went straight for Wise's clothes.
"Eh? Miss Rain, what are you..." Wise started to say something, but Ellen appeared beside him at some point and pulled the girl away.
"Let go. Understand?" Ellen's unfriendly tone, coupled with her cold expression, startled Rain and she subconsciously released her grip.
That's when the girl realized this wasn't a dream and she was actually alive. But she still couldn't figure out what Wise was doing here.
Rain had questions, but remembering what she'd just done made her face turn bright red from embarrassment.
But this wasn't the time for being shy. Thinking of the impending crisis, she immediately grabbed Wise's shoulders in front of her and reminded him about the airship.
Ellen observed this without comment, only clicking her tongue in irritation. After shooting Wise a look, she grabbed her scissors and went to fight.
With the hostage situation resolved, the kidnappers began to attack. By the time Ellen joined the battle, she saw that Corin and Rina had already taken down several attackers.
The remaining ones, seeing they were outmatched, immediately chose to retreat, and those present didn't pursue them.
Their objective of saving Rain had been achieved. Now they needed to focus on the airship crisis.
Suddenly, a strange sound echoed from within the building. A time bomb detonated, and the blast altered the Hollow's structure, sealing off their fastest escape route.
The fleeing enemies had obviously planned this, their mocking laughter echoing through the air. No wonder they'd abandoned their hostage so readily. They already had a backup plan.
When Belle discovered the shortest path was gone, she immediately asked Fairy to calculate another one.
The alternative route would take roughly seven minutes, but there was a possibility of encountering dangerous Ethereals along the way, which was troublesome.
But there wasn't time to worry about that. Everyone took off right away, following Fairy's directions.
Before long, after passing through another rift, they emerged in a massive hall saturated with Ether Corruption.
Now there was only one last step left: everyone needed to pass through the final spatial rift to reach the top of the building.
However, at this moment, the eerie music started again. The lights on the ceiling dimmed for a moment, then brightened again, illuminating the very center of the hall.
The Ethereal drawn by the music earlier stood beneath the glow, though she had company now. A second Ethereal, identical except for her black skirt, appeared beside her.
Looks like her sister came too, and they both moved their claws around like they were dancing.
The middle of the hall became a stage, and under the lights, they were getting ready for a ballet show, just like when they were alive.
"The building's legend is actually true, isn't it? What do we do?"
Belle felt a bit anxious at this moment, as time was almost running out.
Lycaon beside her was about to reassure her, but Wise stepped out of the group first.
The Victoria Housekeeping crew, seeing this, figured he was going to attack and got ready to back him up.
"If possible, could you please not block our way? In return, I can give you a brand new music player that can resist Ether Corruption," Wise looked at the two Ethereals dancing and spoke seriously, while everyone else just stared, confused.
They didn't get why he'd say that. Ethereals can't understand what people say, right?
Even if these two Ethereals were attracted by music, it was still hard to believe they had any consciousness.
As everyone was pondering this, before anyone could voice their doubts, the two Ethereals seemed to have heard Wise's words.
They stopped dancing and moved towards Wise. Ellen immediately rushed forward with her scissors in hand, and Corin followed closely behind.
Then, something that shocked everyone occurred. The two Ethereals did not attack Wise after approaching him.
Instead, one on each side, they gently placed their claws on Wise's outstretched hands, as if agreeing to his request.
Everyone just stood there shocked, but they were running out of time and couldn't ask about it.
So after Wise turned around and signaled them, everyone started moving forward carefully.
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